Bay Charm Officially Launches Operations, Unveils Prospectus for Shenzhen Biomedical Industry Public Service Platform
Editor’s Note: This article is from Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and has been republished by VCBeat with authorization.
Plush sofas, foosball tables, and cabinets stocked with snacks... Just a turn away lies a cool laboratory filled with various precision measuring instruments. Colleagues who have just experienced an intense “brainstorming” session in the conference room can take a few steps to enjoy sunbathing on the sunny terrace.
It is like a scientific labyrinth, but even more so a haven, attracting makers, venture capitalists, and dreamers, enabling innovators who seek various surprising “Easter eggs” to embark on a warm and human-centered scientific journey in this scientific harbor.
On December 4, the opening ceremony of Shenzhen Bay Gravity Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center) and the Biomedical Industry Innovation Salon were held at Weiguang Life Science Park in Xinhu Subdistrict, Guangming District, Shenzhen. More than 200 attendees participated in the event, including municipal and district leaders; Hu Xiaojun, Party Secretary of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory; Tu Huan, Vice President of Shenzhen Medical Academy and Deputy Director of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory; Tan Ying, Vice President of Shenzhen Medical Academy and Advisor to Shenzhen Bay Laboratory; Wu Feng, Deputy Party Secretary of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory; representatives from Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products Co., Ltd.; as well as representatives from resident enterprises, investment institutions, and partner organizations.
According to reports, Shenzhen Bay Gravity Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center) was jointly established by the People’s Government of Guangming District, Shenzhen, and Shenzhen Bay Laboratory. True to its name, the Innovation Center serves as a harbor with powerful magnetic appeal, dedicated to supporting scientists in launching startups and providing services to early-stage biomedical enterprises. It aims to set high-level benchmarks, establishing itself as a showcase for Shenzhen’s original innovation landmark projects and a hub for the aggregation of biomedical resources.
Shenzhen has seized the major historical opportunities presented by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the establishment of a pilot demonstration zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics. By successively issuing policy documents, Shenzhen has guided and accelerated the clustering of its biopharmaceutical industry, expedited efforts to secure commanding heights in research and development, cultivated new highlands for innovation ecosystems, and promoted new opportunities for shared development in biotechnology.
As a key platform jointly established by the Guangming District Committee and Government of Shenzhen and the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory to promote deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application in the biopharmaceutical sector at a higher level and standard, and to accelerate the translation of innovative achievements, the Guangming Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center bears the important mission of exploring and demonstrating a pioneering model for the bio-medical research economy.
Hu Xiaojun, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, stated in his address that the current and coming period represents a significant window of opportunity characterized by the accelerated evolution of biotechnology, rapidly growing demands for life and health, and the swift development of the bioindustry. Adhering to the principles of openness, fairness, scientific rigor, and orderliness, the Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center will integrate biological research, talent, and technological resources across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It will continuously deepen the scope of cooperation, promote the joint establishment of industrial operational entities, and construct an industrial value chain encompassing biopharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and instrumentation. Focusing on disease areas such as tumor screening and treatment, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and infections and immunity, and featuring the integration of IT and BT (Information Technology and Biotechnology) as well as multidisciplinary cross-pollination, the Center will prioritize research in biopharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and instrumentation. It aims to facilitate the translation of biomedical achievements for leading domestic and international research institutions, universities, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies, thereby empowering the development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Guangming District, establishing it as a demonstration base for the pharmaceutical industry, and driving regional biomedical economic growth.
Shenzhen Bay Gravity Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center) is located in the Weiguang Life Science Park within the Guangming Science City area. This science park focuses on key fields such as synthetic biology and brain science, and is adjacent to universities, research institutions, and major scientific infrastructure facilities including the Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, the Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure for Synthetic Biology Research, the Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure for Brain Analysis and Simulation, the Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, and Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology.
In daily operations, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory provides operational support and shared instruments and equipment. Resident startup teams can collaborate with Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation to share supporting facilities and instruments, including a public instrument platform featuring capillary electrophoresis systems, mass spectrometers, ultra-micro UV spectrophotometers, flow cytometers, inverted fluorescence microscopes, and DNA/protein gel imaging systems, as well as cell culture laboratories and GMP-grade workshops dedicated to cell and gene therapy.
The biopharmaceutical industry innovation salon held after the launch ceremony was also filled with creativity and surprises. Zhou Yaoqi, Deputy Director of the Institute for Systems and Physical Biology at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and a senior researcher, shared his long-term research experiences and insights in the field of bioinformatics through a relaxed and humorous stand-up comedy format, eliciting waves of laughter and applause from the audience.
The keynote sharing session featured speeches by Andrew Lee, Co-founder of StartX Med and Clipboard Health and Distinguished Researcher at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, as well as Huang Fan, Founding Partner of Fenxiang Investment. Andrew shared his experience of founding StartX as a scientist, providing insights and ideas for scientists in the audience who were considering entrepreneurship. He pointed out that there are many ways for academic founders to launch their companies and emphasized that successful companies require a full-time team. Regarding entrepreneurial paths and approaches, Andrew stated that each team’s circumstances are unique, and there is no single “right” or “wrong” answer.
Huang Fanzi analyzed the significant impact of recent changes in the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) on investment and financing in the biopharmaceutical industry from an investor’s perspective, and provided projections for the number of listed companies, market capitalization, trading activity, and growth potential on the BSE over the next three years.
The biopharmaceutical industry cluster is one of the 20 strategic emerging industry clusters prioritized for support by Shenzhen Municipality. Statistics show that in 2022, the operating revenue of pharmaceutical enterprises in Shenzhen reached RMB 48.7 billion, with six Shenzhen-based companies included in the “2022 Top 100 Chinese Pharmaceutical Companies” list. By continuously improving its scientific and technological innovation system to support the high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical sector, Shenzhen has demonstrated a pronounced agglomeration effect in this industry. It has initially formed two major industrial clusters: the Nanshan High-Tech Park and the Pingshan National Biotechnology Industry Base. The city has established a number of major innovation platforms, including the Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences and the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory. To date, Shenzhen has built more than 500 innovation carriers at various levels in the biopharmaceutical field, comprising one national-level Clinical Medical Research Center, four provincial-level centers, and 14 municipal-level centers.
The "Action Plan for Cultivating and Developing the Biopharmaceutical Industry Cluster in Shenzhen (2022-2025)," issued in June last year, explicitly states that by 2025, Shenzhen will be built into a globally renowned R&D center for innovative drugs and a leading domestic and world-class hub for the concentrated development of the biopharmaceutical industry.
In July of the same year, the "Several Measures of Shenzhen Municipality to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry Cluster" was officially issued and implemented. In terms of accelerating the construction of pharmaceutical industry infrastructure, it proposed the layout and enhancement of municipal-level drug industry service platforms. This includes accelerating the construction of major municipal public service platforms for the industry, such as Contract Research Organizations (CROs), Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) institutions for non-clinical drug safety evaluation, drug discovery platforms, animal experimentation platforms, inspection and metrology testing platforms, public service platforms for biopharmaceutical review and approval, small-scale and pilot-scale trial platforms, training platforms for key biopharmaceutical talent, incubation and acceleration platforms for the biopharmaceutical industry, project management service platforms, biopharmaceutical industry talent information platforms, pharmaceutical engineering technology service platforms, biopharmaceutical supply chain platforms, and comprehensive service platforms for Marketing Authorization Holders (MAHs).
Shenzhen Bay Gravity Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center), which officially opened on December 4, provides high-specification incubation spaces, shared instruments and equipment, professional operations, and entrepreneurship empowerment services. It focuses on disruptive technologies in cell and gene therapy (CGT), AI-driven drug discovery, and advanced biomedical imaging, aiming to bridge the “last mile” between source innovation and industrialization and build a world-class, one-stop biopharmaceutical acceleration platform.
Hu Xiaojun, Secretary of the Party Committee at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, stated that after Shenzhen Wan You Yinli Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center) commences operations, it will continue to serve as a bridge between scientists and entrepreneurs, as well as between venture capital firms and the government. The center will strengthen external resource alignment while providing internal support to startups. It aims to incubate innovative enterprises engaged in the research and development of new drugs, technologies, and instruments with international competitiveness within the next 5–10 years. By promoting high-quality development in the biomedical industry, the center seeks to cultivate biomedical technology enterprises with genuine source innovation capabilities for Guangming District, Shenzhen, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and China as a whole.
It was observed that the incubation space, which opened on the same day, features independent offices and laboratories for various startup teams, equipped with basic instruments and equipment. The shared areas are fully furnished with public leisure zones, shared meeting rooms, and a shared instrument and equipment platform. The unified “Bay” branding is visible throughout, highlighting the theme of “Bay Attraction, Journeying Together in Medicine.” Wu Tong, Operations Director of Shenzhen Bay Attraction Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Biomedical Innovation Center), revealed that four companies have already settled in the center, securing over RMB 30 million in financing, with 100% of the projects founded by scientists and physicians.